1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a game machine and, more particularly, to a catcher game machine capable of finding the most suitable application in a business game machine to be used in a game center or the like.
2. Prior Art
There has heretofore been a catcher game machine for business use, in which dolls, candies or other premium goods are provided within a machine body so that a user can enjoy lifting such premiums. Especially in recent years, the premium dolls are so increasingly popular that the catcher game machine is one of the most attractive game machines in the game centers.
A known catcher machine is equipped, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 26950/1974, with a bottom face upon which the premiums are placed, a carriage for moving in a horizontal plane over the bottom face, and a pair of pawl members (or grip means) suspended from the carriage by a wire rope.
When the carriage is moved to a desired position by input means disposed in the body of the catcher gate machine of this kind, the wire rope is automatically extended to bring the paired pawl members, which are in a open position, to the bottom face. As soon as the open pawl members drop to the bottom face, the wire rope is winched to close the pawl members and lift the same to its initial position. When the pawl members are completely lifted, the carriage automatically resumes its initial position. The paired pawl members are opened again at the restored initial position of the carriage. If a premium is being gripped, it is dropped into its outlet so that the user can take out the premium from the outlet.
As described above, however, the existing catcher game machine is generally characterized by lifting the premium placed on the bottom face by the paired pawl members. In this business field, there has been a desire to develop a novel catcher game machine having a different structure.